So how do you get your message out to the general public? First of all,
you must be ready to go to the local media, and that means learning to
use the tools available to get the message into the mainstream press. The first and most important tool is a press release.

Earlier this week, Claus van Zastrow wrote a piece over at Public School Insights about reporters' shrinking Rolodex when reporting on education stories. He was writing in response to a CBS segment on school reform that included two popular talking heads who agreed with each other.

The first hurdle you have in getting your message out to the general
public is the local reporter or editor. Your approach to the local
media is very important, so you should spend some time trying to
connect on a personal level.

In the case of labor journalists, you are telling stories about workers
– advocating on their behalf, and on behalf of the union they have
formed to create a better life for themselves and their families. But
that story can be substantially different as you move from one audience
to the next – from union members to the general public.

What is excellence in labor journalism? That is a question that was
posed to me, and a fair place to start on a little journey into labor
history and politics. First, history gives us a good gauge of the
importance of the labor journalist, going back to 1904, when Eugene
Debs was editor of the Metal Worker.